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Gators: County's Lone Unbeaten

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By EDDIE DANIELS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 25, 2007

LAND O' LAKES - And now, only one team remains with an unblemished record in Pasco County - Land O' Lakes.
Zephyrhills stumbled for the first time this season when it suffered a 25-23, 24-26, 25-27, 25-20, 15-9 loss to Mitchell on Wednesday night.

The Bulldogs will attempt to resurface from their first loss Thursday when they host Gulf.

The Gators (7-0) opened their season with an unexpected victory against River Ridge on Aug. 28 and have yet to lose the momentum they gained in that match.

In seven matches, Land O' Lakes has gone beyond three games twice - four against River Ridge and five against Brooksville Central.

In that Sept. 10 meeting, Central, after being swept the first two games, 25-16, 25-18, won the next two games, 25-12, 25-15, forcing a fifth game, which Land O' Lakes won, 15-13.

The Bears are up again tonight in the second meeting in Class 5A-District 7. This time the Gators will travel to Central.

LOOKS PROMISING: Gulf coach Shari Schau always has preached that her players need to fight hard in the district because anything can happen. With the way things look in Class 4A-District 8, her team (6-4 overall, 5-3 in 4A-8) is in the mix.
Zephyrhills (7-1, 7-0) has the top spot locked up, while Nature Coast (7-2, 7-1), Hudson (8-3) and the Buccaneers fight for that coveted No. 2 spot in the nine-team district.

'Normally things are pretty set; your top two teams are up there and your bottom two teams are down there and everybody else is kind of swished around in the middle,' Schau said. 'With this season, it really does seem like it's anybody's game. I've always told my kids that on any given day, anybody can beat anybody. This year, I totally believe that part of it.'

SNATCHING ONE AWAY: In a way, Wednesday night was a good thing for River Ridge. The Royal Knights beat Brooksville Nature Coast, 23-25, 22-25, 25-15, 26-24, 15-6, learning what it's like to come from behind and take a victory from an opponent.

As close as the team had to be during those moments on the court, the squad (7-1) will have to use some of the same tools when it travels to Orlando to participate in the Bishop Moore Hornet Invitational, Friday and Saturday.

The Royal Knights will open up against Cardinal Gibbons at 8 a.m. Saturday, a team that went 33-0 last season.

'Whether we win or we lose, I just want to bring our level of play up,' River Ridge coach Heidi Castelamare said. 'We need to keep our level of play going up because I know this team can be a lot better than what they're doing right now.'

SNAKE BITTEN: In the four games leading into Monday night's match against Mitchell, no one can deny Hudson had a rough stretch. The Cobras dropped three of those four matches, losing the first two by three-game sweeps. Hudson came back against Gulf, ending a two-game losing slide Sept. 18, but fell back when it lost to Nature Coast on Thursday.

The Cobras (8-3) will travel to Springstead tonight and host Wiregrass Ranch on Thursday.

Lara Metz continues to pace Hudson with 95 kills and 44 aces, while setter Mary Cook has compiled 249 assists. Lauren Stump has assembled 52 blocks and has received help up front from Shannon Zasloff (35 blocks), while Hallie Bislick has cleaned up with 86 digs, along with Metz's 67 and Randi Groff's 47 serve receptions.

AFTER THE GAME: Call The Tampa Tribune after your matches to report scores at (813) 259-7655.

The volleyball notebook will run every Tuesday in the Pasco Tribune. Coaches who want to add their team's information can submit their entries to Eddie Daniels by calling (813) 948-4214 or e-mailing edaniels@

tampatrib.com.

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